Fire and Spice
by Crystal Rainbow8
Summary: Kimiko and Jack Spicer romance. Read and review... this is my first story and all advice is welcome!
1. Stolen by the Enemy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or ideas related to Xiaolin Showdown.

**A/N:** This story takes place about a year after the time that the show takes place. The characters are all around the age of 15.

**Chapter 1: Stolen by the Enemy**

Kimiko was in a deep easy sleep when she woke up suddenly to the sound of a motor.

_A motor? _

The sound was faint and far off, but getting distinctly louder and closer to the Xiaolin Temple where she resided. _That's strange,_ she thought, and slid out of bed and over to the window. The "motor" noise sounded like it was coming from in the air, as if it were a helicopter. She couldn't see anything from her bedroom window, so she quietly snuck outside to figure out what it was coming from. When she stepped outside of the temple into the sparkling black night air, she immediately saw the source of the sound she was hearing. By the light of the lanterns which hung around the temple, Kimiko saw the easily recognizable shape of none other than Jack Spicer, the Haylin enemy, flying on his helicopter wings toward the temple.

But Jack Spicer the Evil Boy Genius did not see Kimiko watching him from far below. Instead he continued along the side of the temple toward the back of it. Kimiko watched in alarm but didn't move. Jack landed gently on the ground and quickly walked around the corner of the temple. Kimiko sprang into a swift run across the dewy grass following Jack. She turned the corner in time to see the back door close behind Jack. She still said nothing and followed him inside to where he went into Kimiko's bedroom! She leaped after him into the small and comfortable room and went into a fighting position. Jack spun around finally noticing the company and staggered backwards in shock.

"What do you think _you_ are doing _here_ at one o'clock in the morning?" Kimiko hissed at Jack.

Jack put a finger up to his lips to quiet her, then sprang forward with a piece of cloth in his hand and tied it around her mouth tightly. In total surprise and anger, Kimiko twisted around to kick Jack in the stomach with the force of fire, the element in which she trained as a Xiaolin apprentice.

Jack, temporarily breathless, fell backwards. He got back up just in time to grab Kimiko's hands which had almost untied the cloth around her mouth. Then he quickly and expertly tied her hands together in a tight rope and threw her over his shoulder before she could think of what to do next. Jack, carrying Kimiko, made a dash out the door. Then Jack started up his copter blades and the two enemies started to rise off the ground. Kimiko tightened her grip around Jack when they got high into the air for fear of falling.

Kimiko lay tense and clung to Jack until they landed on solid ground once again, half an hour later. At this time she immediately made as much space between the two as Jack would allow. Kimiko, twisting and wiggling her mouth, managed to get the cloth between her teeth instead of over her whole mouth.

"Where are we?" she demanded speaking in distorted words.

Jack tightened his grip on her shoulder and pushed her forward, walking up to a cave carved out of the strange mountainous environment. They continued walking into the cave where Jack led her to a dirt packed winding staircase. The two walked down the stairs until it opened up into a bland looking laboratory.

"This, my dear, is the residence of Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius!" He crossed his arms and looked around as if seeing it for the first time. "Isn't it great?" he added.

"Why exactly am I here, Jack?" Kimiko said angrily. "What do you want with _me_?"

"Let's just say you're part of a spectacular plan that Wuya and I have created," Jack sneered slightly and Kimiko could only imagine what it might be if Wuya, the bodiless ghost hag, had anything to do with the "plan."

"You are a kind of…lure. You see, at the time when the Mind of Mala revealed itself, I was having technical difficulty with my transportation." Jack's eyes fell to the ground for a moment. "That gave you 'Xiaolin Losers' the chance to take the Mind of Mala, one of the most powerful Shen Gong Wu. We are rebuilding Mala Mala Jong and the Mind of Mala is a very, very important part of creating him. When your friends come to save you, they will bring with them the Mind of Mala to fight with. At that time I will steal it from them." Jack said simply.

"What, are you just going to take it out of their hands or something?" Kimiko asked, annoyed.

"Well, I havn't gotten to the 'hows' yet, but I'll figure something out."

"Whatever. Right now, let me go back to sleep. And in the morning when Omi, and Rai, and Clay come, we'll just defeat you, then we'll all go back to the temple," Kimiko said confidently. "Now where am I to sleep?"

"Well, my bed is the only one in my lair, so I guess, on the floor."

"What! Yeah right! If you think you're going to keep me in your stupid lab without even letting me sleep with some heavily padded blankets or _something_!"

"Hey, what do you expect when I'm the only human living here, an in-law suite?"

"I expect you to at least make some accommodations," Kimiko grumbled.

"Fine, fine, you can have one of my blankets."

Kimiko left him with a hateful glare.

………………………………...

The next morning at the Xiaolin Temple, the three apprentices awoke to an unusually bright and warm day. Omi first noticed Kimiko's disappearance at breakfast. Kimiko always got up the earliest and would have been eating by the time Omi came in to the kitchen. But not today. It was surprising to Omi to see an empty kitchen for the first time since Kimiko first came to train as a monk three years two years ago.

_It is not like Kimiko to sleep late. I should check on her in the case that she has fallen ill._

Omi walked down the hallway to Kimiko's bedroom and was about to knock on her door when he noticed that it was open. He looked inside and saw that Kimiko was not in her bed.

_She must be getting an early start on her morning chores! _

With that Omi went back to the kitchen for oatmeal and fruit.

Later, after Clay and Raimundo had awakened and ate breakfast, Kimiko had still not shown up.

"Do either of you know where Kimiko is?" Omi asked the two other boys seriously.

"I haven't seen her all morning," Clay answered matter-of-factly.

"Me niether. Big deal," Raimundo said with an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Then we shall look for her," Omi stated and assigned them each areas of the temple grounds to search for their friend.

After twenty five minutes of hard searching and calling out Kimiko's name, she still had not been sighted anywhere.

"We should tell Master Fung," Clay proposed to the others.

After talking with Master Fung, the apprentices had come to the realization that Kimiko was no longer at the temple. Master Fung sent them off to search for the young girl. They quickly found Dojo, the dragon, and told him the story. They would search for Kimiko from Dojo's back in order to cover more ground.

After flying low to the ground for almost two hours in the surrounding areas, none had seen a trace of their lost friend. Suddenly, Dojo began diving straight toward the ground, not in a graceful dive which would end in a gentle landing, but an out of control dive. Dojo was falling so fast that none of the teenagers could possibly ask Dojo what was happening.

Abandoning their instincts to hold on tighter, the three apprentices jumped off of the crashing dragon and went tumbling through the air. Omi landed hard on his feet, throwing him backwards until he was lying flat on his back. Clay had the cowboy training to tuck your chin and roll when falling off a bull, the safest way to do it, and used the same theory in this situation. He hit the ground rolling, his body curled up, and managed to only get bruised. On the other hand, Raimundo, arms and legs flailing in panic, rammed into the earth hard on his side, knocking the air out of his lungs. Dojo, being a graceful dragon, elegantly landed as if nothing had gone wrong. However, he himself did not look in nearly as good of shape as his landing portrayed.

"Oh, Dojo," Omi said weakly rubbing dirt from his head. "What happened?"

Raimundo for the first time had no rude remark to add, and instead grunted.

"Something's wrong kids," Dojo said sounding sick. "There must be Blue Raccume trees around here. I have a deadly - allergy you might call it, to them. They are very rare trees, but the chloroplasts of this particular tree can be deadly to dragons," Dojo finished, sounding out of breath.

"Deadly?" Clay gasped.

"You have never told us of this Dojo," Omi said, having nothing better to say.

Raimundo, once again at a loss for words, groaned solemnly.

"How bad off are you?" Clay asked hesitantly.

"Bad."

………………………………...

Most of the day Kimiko had been tied onto a small couch against the wall in Jack's lair. Jack hadn't been around much, and Kimiko was rather grateful for that. But Kimiko was beginning to wonder why her fellow apprentices hadn't come for her yet.

**A/N:** Feel free to review with as much feedback and constructive criticism as you can give me! This is my first story, and all of your opinions are appreciated. Now… review!


	2. A Realization

**A Realization**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or ideas related to Xiaolin Showdown

Two days had passed since Kimiko had been taken to Jack's lair. Her days were spent sitting chained to the couch, staring at the walls, and only being let loose to use the bathroom. Jack brought her three small meals a day, usually made up of a piece of fruit, a sandwich, and water. A couple of times, Jack had come and sat down near her and talked for a few minutes about Shen Gong Wu, or complained to her about Wuya's nagging. Kimiko liked his company, only because she was a human who thrived off of interaction with others. She dearly wished she had her cell phone or laptop with her so that she could contact her friends in Tokyo. (There was no technology at the Xiaolin Temple, so she wouldn't have been able to contact the other apprentices.)

Her mind was filled with boring thoughts. _What is Wuya doing? She looks like a purple shawl trying to act human. _

_Jack's hair is really bright. It could blind someone. Well, maybe not literally. I wonder if he dyed it, or if it's a glitch in nature? Hmm…_

_It's disgustingly messy in here. How can anyone live in this clutter? I'm surprised Jack even remembers where he puts the Shen Gong Wu. _

Kimiko was beginning to feel like she was going insane. She had only been there for two days, but for such a social butterfly, it was killing her to be stuck with only Jack to talk to. And besides, it wasn't really talking to Jack, it was Jack calling her "pathetic girl" and Kimiko calling him a "pitiful Mama's boy." She really wanted to ask Jack if he'd done something to harm the other three apprentices. She couldn't help but worry why they had not found her yet. Surely they had not just abandoned her. But she would never let Jack know that she was distressed.

………………………………...

After the near fatal fall on Dojo, the three apprentices walked back to the temple on foot, Clay carrying Dojo at gecko size. When they finally arrived four hours later, they immediately sought out the Healer of the temple, a wise monk by the name of Mohe, to help Dojo. He willingly took in the patient, having dealt with Dojo's tree allergy before. Mohe assured the three teens that he would give his full attention to Dojo's recovery. Clay worriedly asked if the dragon would be okay, and Mohe didn't have much of an answer. "I'll see what I can do," was all he said.

Arriving back at Master Fung's study quarters, Omi, Rai, and Clay told him of the problem at hand, and of Raimundo's injuries. (Rai had had a very painful time walking back to the temple after his terrible landing.)

"This is a dreadful time for Dojo to be ill," Master Fung's voice was calm and smooth as always. "You need Dojo in order to find Kimiko, and now, you will have to travel on foot. The search will be much slower. But first, Raimundo must be checked by Mohe to see if he is up to the journey. Clay and Omi, you go meditate on where to look for Kimiko." With that, Clay and Omi left for the meditation room, and Rai went to join Dojo in the Healer's room.

………………………………...

"Sit here on this stool." Raimundo complied. "Now, twist your upper body to the left. Now to the right." Mohe talked in a soothing voice while looking over Raimundo. As Raimundo turned his body, he winced in pain. "Hmm. Where does it hurt?"

"Uhh, right around here," he pointed to a couple spots on his ribs on the right side of his body.

Mohe gently felt around the spots on his body, poking and prodding. When he touched certain places, Raimundo winced or made a strange noise of pain. After a thorough examination, the conclusion was made. "Well," Mohe said, "you aren't bad off at all. But you have minor cracks in two of your ribs."

"Uggh. Cracked ribs? No way," Raimundo said with his cute Brazilian accent. "Can I still go with the others to look for Kimiko?"

"Hmm." Mohe stood still, thinking. "It would be best to let it rest so that the ribs will heal. But… it wouldn't hurt too bad if you were only walking on the trip."

"Yes! So I can still go?" Rai said thankfully.

"I suppose so. But just be sure you don't hold back your coughs. It could damage your ribs more if you do."

………………………………...

After Mohe had given Raimundo special instructions, he joined Omi and Clay in meditation.

"I just don't see why Kimiko would have left," Rai puzzled.

"I do not believe she left of her own accord," Omi said, brainstorming.

"You mean you think she was kidnapped?" Clay drawled.

"I am not sure," Omi said.

"I really wish Jack Spicer didn't have the Silver Manta Ray. If we had it, we wouldn't have to walk," Raimundo said.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for Jack Spicer, we'd have a better chance of finding Kimiko," Clay stated.

Omi's eyes widened and he gasped loudly. Rai and Clay already understood what was going through Omi's head.

"Spicer's got Kimiko," Clay spoke for all three boys.

………………………………...

At this point, Kimiko's muscles were aching from sitting all day. She was just about to try breaking out of the chains when Jack walked in. He didn't have the usual sneer across his face. He just looked like a regular sixteen year old guy. His hair was not slicked backwards, but fell around his face in all directions. He wasn't wearing his yellow goggles on his head, and was dressed in baggy flannel pajama pants, and a black sleeveless shirt. Kimiko waited for Jack to talk first.

"Um, do you need anything? I'm about to go to bed," Jack said in an even tone. Not evil at all, Kimiko mused. She decided not to start a fight as long as Jack wasn't going to.

"No, I guess not," then she quickly said, "well, I really need to stretch my legs. You know, just, walk around some?" she ended in a pleading voice.

"Actually," Jack said thoughtfully, "I can lock the door to this room, and you can walk around in here, instead of being chained up."

Kimiko was amazed at his answer, and how he was acting. He seemed somehow more mature. "That'd be great," Kimiko smiled.

Jack unchained her, then walked over to the door. He walked out, then hesitantly poked his head back in. "G'night."

Kimiko couldn't help but smile slightly, and held her hand up to wave good night back to him. With that Jack locked the door, leaving Kimiko very confused about his manner tonight.

………………………………...

**A/N:** Hope you guys are liking my story so far! Thank you to all my reviewers. It really pushes me to write more when I get reviews. Sorry if I'm going a little too slow for some of your likings on the romance part, but I don't want to rush it to the point where it is just stupid. You know what I mean? Anyway I have a great idea for the third chapter so I'll have it up soon! Once again please review and let me know if there is something I wrote wrong, or something I can improve on, or just whatever. Thanks!


	3. There's Always a Beginning

**There's Always a Beginning**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or ideas related to Xiaolin Showdown.

The next morning, Raimundo, Clay, and Omi woke up earlier than usual. They would have to get an early start on their journey to Jack's lair. The three apprentices sat together in the Meditation Hall, deciding on which Shen Gong Wu they would take with them.

"I want the Orb of Tornami," Omi stated.

"I think we should take the Falcon's eye. It might help us locate Kimiko once we get to Jack's place." Clay said.

"How about the Shroud of Shadows. We could definitely use that," Rai added.

"We need the Reversing Mirror," said Clay, "It's as useful as tic tacs are to my Uncle Bobby."

Neither Rai nor Omi questioned Clay's strange expression about his uncle. They were both used to his way of talking by now. He always used old expressions and sayings, some of which he himself made up on the spot.

After making final Shen Gong Wu decisions and having a hearty breakfast, the three apprentices left the temple. They carried with them bags full of food, bedrolls, Shen Gong Wu, and other items they would need. They also brought with them the Shen Gong Wu scroll to alert them if any new Wu revealed themselves. As to how they would locate the Wu if this did happen, they still were not sure. They set out walking at a steady pace, slow enough that Rai could keep up in his condition, and fast enough that by their calculations of where the destination was, they would be arriving in a little less than a week.

"Man! Why don't they have any cars at the temple?" Rai was already complaining in the second hour of walking.

"Even if they did, none of us have our license yet. And besides, we're gonna' be walkin' through rougher terrain than a car could drive through," Clay put in.

They continued walking another hour before stopping for a snack/rest break at the side of a fast moving river. They took out slices of bread, fruit, and water and began enjoying their snack, sitting slumped against tree trunks.

………………………………...

_Kimiko sat beside a crackling fire watching the flames. She felt really dizzy. Omi, Rai, and Clay had been with her only moments ago, but had left her behind when they went away. She was sweaty but freezing and she was holding a Shen Gong Wu. At first she didn't recognize the Shen Gong Wu, but then she said "Crystal Glasses" and brought the Wu up to her face and put them on. She looked through the glasses and saw herself alone in a dark room. Then someone else walked into the room. It was a bright figure, slim, and tall. She squinted trying to make out the person. Then she saw his face. It was Jack. He walked up to her. When he came close she could smell something…an odor not good, not bad. She couldn't place it. She fell into his arms and was trying to kiss him but he kept turning away as if unsure of something. He looked troubled. Then she could hear Raimundo's voice shouting something, but she couldn't make out the words. She was shouting back to him frantically._

Kimiko woke up breathing hard. Her muscles felt like she had just run a mile or more. She sat up on the small couch which she had been sleeping on. It was bright in the little room. She thought it must be at least ten o'clock in the morning by now, much later than she usually slept. She slumped back against the couch. She tried to remember what had just happened in her dream. She had been dreaming no more than two minutes ago but now that her body was conscious again, it seemed so far away. So vague. She recalled the feelings from the dream and that she had been trying to kiss…Jack? Yeah, it was Jack. She shook her head in bewilderment. She recalled the shouting to Raimundo and how she felt when they had left her, alone by the fire. Hmm. She didn't usually have such dramatic dreams. She mused at how weird and unrealistic dreams could be, knowing that what had happened in the dream was very farfetched.

She looked over to the little table in front of the couch and saw that some breakfast was already sitting on it for her. Jack must've already come in while she was sleeping. Her breakfast was a cinnamon roll (which had obviously come straight out of a store bought package) and a glass of orange juice. Kimiko didn't think that cinnamon went good with orange, but thought Jack, being a clueless teenager, didn't put thought into that kind of thing. She ate the small meal, then went over to the door to her room. Since she had been sleeping when Jack had come in, she didn't get a chance to be let out to go to the restroom. She knocked loudly on the door.

"Jack? Are you out there?" she called.

Jack, who had been doing some tinkering with his robots in his work room, heard her. Kimiko could hear footsteps coming toward her from the other side of the door. Jack unlocked the door and slipped inside locking it again behind him.

"Whacha need?" he said casually, as if he was not the one holding her prisoner.

"Honestly? Well…I could use being let out of here," Kimiko said and was surprised at herself that she said it in a humorous way. Jack looked a little uneasy at her reply, then decided to keep the light feeling of this conversation.

"I can't do that yet. But what did you really need?"

"I _do_ really need to be let out, but I suppose a restroom break will suffice," she said and smiled. _Why did you smile? What is nice about this situation? Jack doesn't need to be smiled at._

"K," was his reply. He didn't take the time to chain her hands together like he usually did when taking her down the hall to the bathroom. (Kimiko thought chaining her up just to take her thirty feet through his lair to the bathroom was stupid, and was grateful that he didn't today.)

After doing her morning business in the bathroom, Kimiko was led back to the small room from which she had come from. But instead of Jack locking her up and leaving, he came in with her before locking the door behind him. Kimiko gave him a questioning look. Which apparently made Jack feel slightly stupid. He averted his eyes to the ground.

"Oh I…I just thought…you might like company," he said.

"Ok… that's fine," Kimiko blurted without thinking. _What! Tell him to get out, you weirdo! You don't need Jack sticking around, making you mad! But you need human interaction. It's practically what you live for. Just let him stay for a while and talk, you need it. _Kimiko didn't know what to think about what she had just said. She wasn't losing her mind, she just desperately needed to be around another human, even if it was Jack Spicer.

"So… um," Jack began, trying to break the silence. It turned out to make things more awkward. "You're from Tokyo?"

"Yeah. Uhh…… w- where are you from?"

"Well, I was born in Canada and lived there 'til I was twelve."

"How did you end up coming and living in a weird cave slash lair thing?" Kimiko said genuinely interested in why anyone would do such a thing.

"Well, when my dad sent me the puzzle box, and it just happened to be Wuya inside it. Well, you know, Wuya and I have similar interests. You know, we both want world domination." Here Jack paused, as if for the first time in his life he realized that world domination might be a stupid idea. He shook it off and continued. "Well, most of the Shen Gong Wu were hidden close to China since Grand Master Dashi lived in China. So I decided to come live here for a while until we obtain all the Wu, and when we do we'll be one step closer to the whole…domination thing," Jack ended awkwardly.

"Oh, so this is just your temporary residence?" Kimiko was trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Yeah."

Kimiko was trying desperately to think of something else to say when her thoughts were interrupted. A loud clatter was coming from the 'foyer' (as Jack called the first room you enter when coming into his lair). Kimiko jumped into a fighting position, then smiled to herself as Jack screeched and fell to the floor.

Jack clambered to his feet and said, "What was that?"

"Open the door, and we can go see," Kimiko said, exasperatedly.

"Right…" Jack obeyed, and signaled that Kimiko should go first. Kimiko rolled her eyes, muttered "_Wimp_," and cautiously walked into the main room of the cave, Jack right behind her. Together they peered around the corner and saw a pile of robot rubble, with five of Panda Bobba's henchmen standing above it.

Jack let out a whimper, and whispered, "Rubble-bots… attack," in a defeated voice.

………………………………... 

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. But I've finally got my ideas flowing and I should have the fourth chapter up soon. I hope you all are liking my story, but please, please, take the time to review! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post the next chapter. If there is anything I'm wrong about in the story or any mistakes I've made, feel free to point them out. I can always use the help! Thanks for reading!


	4. Battle to Love

**Battle to Love**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters or ideas related to Xiaolin Showdown.

Jack pulled his head back away from the door, and stepped back into the safety of the little room from which he had come. Kimiko turned her head and looked at Jack.

"What's this all about?" she hissed.

"Uh, uh, I have no idea," he shrieked. "What do we do now?"

"Well, they have to be here for _some_ reason. Don't you know what that reason is?" Kimiko said quickly.

"No!"

"Call more robots to hold them off. We have to figure out what they want."

"Right," Jack poked his head back around the corner and called "Jackbots, attack," in a

loud voice. From somewhere in Jack's workroom, ten more robots came flying into the

Room where Panda Bobba's men stood. They promptly started banging into the enemies

and shooting steel balls out at them. (Jack proudly announced that the shooting steel

balls was a new feature.)

"At one time you joined up with Panda Bobba." Kimiko began. "What kind of a

partnership did you have with him?"

"Well, I gave him a Shen Gong Wu and in return he gave me parts for my robots. But

that's about it." Jack said.

"Did you make him mad in a way that would make him want revenge?" Kimiko asked

"I don't think so"

"Hmm." Kimiko strode back out the door. She saw that all but two of the wimpy Jackbots had been destroyed. She went into a fighting position once more wishing sorely that the other three apprentices were with her.

"We've got to fight them. Come on," Kimiko said uneasily.

Before Jack could reply that they could never beat all of the enemies, Kimiko flipped out into the center of the floor to stand right in front of the group of sour-faced men. Without any word to them she sprang into action, punching here, and kicking there. In less than a minute she had taken down three of Panda Bobba's henchmen. She had kicked one right in the face making him fall backward and causing a broken nose, which was bleeding terribly. Jack was helplessly standing by the wall trying to avoid the attackers. But soon enough two of the remaining men were in pursuit of him. He ran into another room where he grabbed two of his Shen Gong Wu, the monkey staff, and third arm sash. He ran back to where Kimiko was struggling to hold off Panda Bobba's men. He threw her the third arm sash and used the monkey staff himself. With the help of the Wu, they worked together until all the men were knocked out. Kimiko stood panting and Jack leaned against the wall, both out of breath from their hard fighting.

"They'll soon be back up and fighting again if we don't do something about it," said Kimiko, referring to the men, some of which were already sitting up again.

"What do we do?" asked Jack.

"Don't you ever have any ideas?" Kimiko spat, angry for his ever present lack of thought.

"I always use robots, and they have the tendency of being shattered to pieces before any of them do harm!" Jack said irritated about the whole situation.

"Come on, use the monkey staff to help you fight. The only thing we can do is keep fighting them while they're down until they are all unconscious." Kimiko then leapt forward with a sudden burst of energy and began punching one of the enemies.

………………………………...

That day, Omi, Rai, and Clay continued their unpleasant journey to Jack's lair. They fell into a pattern of walking for an hour, taking a short rest break, walking another hour, stopping to eat, walking, stopping, and so on throughout the day. By evening they were all in irritable moods and were constantly bickering. Finally they agreed to call it a day, and stopped for the night. They made a fire, cooked beans from a can, ate, and all went to sleep.

None slept well on the hard ground and by morning they were stiff and sore. After eating breakfast, Clay voiced what they all were dreading and recommended that they start their day's walk. Omi and Rai half heartedly agreed and once again they were back into their miserable pattern of travel.

………………………………...

After checking each of Panda Bobba's men and confirming that none of them would be able to fight back, Kimiko began the process of chaining up each of them. Jack and Kimiko made their way around them, chaining one after the other. Finally when all were immobile, they dragged them all into the room of Jack's lair which had been Kimiko's room. Jack explained that it was the only room with enough floor space for all of them.

Jack and Kimiko sat down together on the little couch in the room and stared across the room at all the men, lying uneasily on the floor.

"Wonder why they're here," Kimiko mused.

"Me too," said Jack blandly. "But what are we supposed to do with them? We can't leave ten strange men laying on my floor forever."

"I know. We have to ask them why they're here and maybe then we can somehow get them to leave," Kimiko said, with a doubtful expression.

Kimiko walked over and crouched down beside a man that was fully conscious. He stared at her hatefully. Kimiko asked what they wanted and after talking to him for a few minutes and threatening to strangle him with the third arm sash, she had gathered some information. Panda Bobba had sent them to attack Jack so that they could hack into his computer and get information about his robot inventions. Apparently, Jack was smarter then Panda Bobba in inventing, and Panda Bobba needed some of his information to create his own robots. He would use these robots as part of his own world domination scheme.

Kimiko then left the man alone and she and Jack left the room to talk it over. They tried to concentrate on forming a plan.

"We have to do something. Something so that Panda Bobba's men won't attack again, and so that we don't have to give them your inventing secrets. This is making my head hurt," Kimiko grumbled.

And indeed, neither one of them could come up with anything, and after considering many different plans, none of which would work, their heads were both tired and muddled. Kimiko and Jack eventually found themselves drifting off to talk about different subjects.

"I'm hungry," Jack mumbled.

"_I'm_ hungry," Kimiko said.

"I don't feel like getting up."

"Neither do I."

Jack was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. His eyes were closed, as he was very tired. Kimiko sat slumped against a pillow in an armchair which Jack had in his bedroom. She was facing Jack diagonally, staring out at the room, content to be relaxing after her fight earlier in the day. Jack didn't bother about having Kimiko locked presently. He knew she wasn't trying to escape right now and that he needed her help if he ever wanted to be rid of Panda Bobba's men. In this way, they sat for a long time, talking, then just resting silently. They began feeling more and more comfortable in their conversations, and the awkward silences which were formerly present, became less frequent. They hardly realized the time passing.

They got up at one point to finally eat, but then resumed their positions in Jack's room. It was now late at night and without really noticing, they both dropped off to sleep.

**A/N: **Well… it's been a while, eh? Sorry for the long delay… you all probably had to go back and read the entire story just to know what was going on. Now that I'm back into it I'm going to try to keep writing, and hopefully the chapters will come more regularly. Please review!


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